Debra Morgan
Profile = |-| Lieutenant Debra "Deb" Morgan is the other heroic protagonist and lead character in Dexter. Debra is often the conscience of the series, providing the morally correct sense of justice while her brother Dexter Morgan pursues darker means. Her involvement in the plot is usually parallel to Dexter's, usually hunting the same killer with the intent on bringing them to Justice even though Dexter seeks them to satisfy his Dark Passenger. Her foster-brother is Dexter Morgan, the main protagonist and serial killer of the series...while both were raised by Deb's biological parents Harry and Doris Morgan. Debra grew up watching her brother take a lot of the spotlight, often seeking attention from her father who would otherwise focus everything into Dexter. Little did she realize that Harry's reasoning for doing this was not because he loved her any less but he was trying to control a "weapon" of sorts within his son to handle his own personal agenda with serial killers. She decided to join the police in his footsteps, hoping to become worthy within his eyes even though he had passed away years before. She started out as a cop in Vice but slowly worked her way up to a shield, making her a detective with the Miami Metro Police Department Homicide division. Season Three saw her primarily partnered with fellow Detective Joey Quinn, thus starting a complicated friendship and eventually relationship. Season Five brought in a new character, Cira Manzon, who acted as first a beat cop partner that eventually made it to homicide while also bringing trouble for Deb. Manzon however has since vanished, likely working on other cases or possibly was transferred. Through many acts as an effective officer in the field, Deputy Chief Tom Matthews decided to promote Deb directly to Lieutenant of Homicide once Maria LaGuerta moved on to be Captain. In Deb's place, she decided to elect Mike Anderson (a newly transferred rockstar detective from Chicago) as her replacement for Detective. Her relationships are an infamous part of her character, having spent time with story important characters (both good and bad) and some minor ones. Most recently, she's started a romantic relationship with Joey Quinn and in a complex turn of events, they have gone separate ways with Quinn acting out his anger in being turned down from a recent proposal attempt and Debra accepting her duties in the new position she has at work. Appearance Debra is a thin, caucasian woman. Her face is soft and somewhat long, with a big smile. Her hair is everchanging, going from one length to another (and in Season 3, even cutting off a lot of it) but typically remains a dark brown with streaks of black. Her overall body is thin but athletic, meaning she's capable of running down a perp when necessary rather than just drag behind. On the side of her stomach (right side) she has a scar where she was shot during Season 4, now sharing the same type of look her brother has (on both his side and arm). Her attire is one of the most varied throughout the series. As soon as she's allowed into Homicide, she quickly adopts designer suits thus making her one of the best dressed officers in Homicide. Her suits change along with her hairstyle and most recently, she's dropped using a jacket and instead wears a long-sleeved button up shirt with dress pants and shoes. Her typical gear is a gun and badge, along with other possible devices such as a radio. Her at-home attire is very casual compared to her work clothing, usually consisting of T-shirts and bluejeans. Personality Debra is not shy with curse words but is lonely despite the rough persona she presents. Debra's ability to be "one of the guys" is what allows her to be so effective at her job. She is headstrong and wears her emotions on her sleeves, but deep down she is caring and sensitive. She is a lot of things that Dexter is not; crass, impulsive, emotional, trusting and thus serves as a perfect foil for Dexter. She highlights his shortcomings in his attempts to be "human". Debra believes she truly knew her father, but is in reality completely unaware of the secrets he kept--especially concerning Dexter (who she sees as a true brother). Inspired by their father's legendary police career; Debra joined the police and desperately yearned to become a Homicide Detective. Initially assigned to Vice, she was desperate to be transferred to Homicide, a goal that was accomplished in Season 1. Despite being smart, she is unsure of herself, so instead relies upon Dexter's seemingly limitless expertise on murderers to solve difficult cases. She rose through the ranks despite harsh feelings her lieutenant, Maria LaGuerta, harbored toward her, but she and the rest of the department soon grew to respect Debra as an officer. Her keen eye as a detective and loyalty to her fellow officers earned her praise from Captain Matthews and (during Season 2) FBI Special Agent Frank Lundy. She is known to have a very foul mouth (in the first episode Dexter describes her as "his foul-mouth foster sister"), and there is hardly a sentence that she speaks in which she does not swear (she does this in normal conversation, but swears more often when angry). This has nearly gotten her into trouble on several occasions as she often speaks profanely to her superiors, only to realize afterwards and apologize. It finally got her into trouble in the 3rd season, as a poorly-timed public comment against the deceased Oscar Prado caused her to be kicked off the Freebo case. However it has been revealed she is able to control herself at times when around children, as when holding onto baby Harrison she said "fu---dge". She is also known for being easily angered and frustrated by suspects (even more evident when something happens to someone close to her). Despite her foul mouth and anger issues, it is evident that Debra really loves her brother. Though she is frustrated at his inability to open up to her, she has defended him on more than one occasion. For example, she threatened Quinn when he called Dexter a "dweeb." Theme Music Debra has a very unique theme music, much like her brother. It has a "detective" theme associated with it, typically with the use of chorded instruments and piano. A common example of Debra's theme in action would be the song Debra loves Rudy, Deb Cries, and Forgetting Lundy. History Debra was born to Doris Morgan and Harry Morgan and, later, the adopted sister to Dexter Moser. She was a tomboy as a child and was always very rough. She constantly craved the attention of her father and she envied Dexter for all the time that Harry spent with him, teaching him how to get away with murder. She initially accepted him as a brother, however, and was extremely worried and upset when she got him hurt when she asked him to fetch her football by climbing over a fence. She was very confrontational to Dexter as a child, always seeking the attention from Harry and never truly getting it. When she was 12, her mother, Doris Morgan died of cancer. From then on, she wanted to become a detective, like her father and started learning to shoot a gun by taking her father's, which he gets very angry about when Dexter tells him and she reproaches Dexter for telling him saying that sometimes she wished that he had never brought him home, but apologizes for it soon after. She still learns how to use a gun better than Dexter and carries on trying to become a detective. She is distraught at her father's death and inspired by his legendary police career, she follows in his footsteps and joins the police and yearns desperately to become a Homicide Detective. Career Debra Morgan has one of the most developing careers in the Miami Metro Police Department. In 2001 she joined the police department and spent three years in patrol before moving on to Vice in 2004. While in Vice, she would often go undercover as a prostitute and as such still has many contacts within their ranks. Two years passed and the Ice Truck Killer Investigation started up with two murdered victims found in Miami. Showing initiative, she started to notice oddities in the victims and realized they could be delivered by mobile refrigeration units, specifically refrigerated trucks. At first the idea of searching for refrigerated trucks was dismissed by her superior Lieutenant Maria LaGuerta but later on when her brother began stalking a refrigerated truck (which he excused as just following Debra's lead to back up her story) and has a victim's head thrown at him, the department starts to realize the value in her investigative ideas. Shortly thereafter she manages to actually find the truck and inside are the fingertips of victim Sheri Taylor, who is later identified back at Miami Metro Homicide. Captain Tom Matthews hears about the successful finding of the truck and later has LaGuerta promote Debra from Vice to Homicide. She however is not officially a detective at this point. Two years pass, with her as an Officer of Homicide she helps break huge cases such as the Ice Truck Killer Case and aids Frank Lundy as part of his Special Task Force in hunting the Bay Harbor Butcher. In most instances, she takes point and with her intuitive ability to recognize evidence, signs, indications and clues that lead to truth she finally makes Detective earning her Silver Shield just before Dexter's wedding at the end of Season Three. One of her first acts as Detective is to lead the charge on capturing George Washington King, who "commits suicide" (in reality he was already killed by Dexter but provided an escape plan for him at the time) by smashing through a patrol car window from the above railing. Two years as a Detective prove Debra a capable, hard-working individual. Now nearing 9 years on the force, she aids in the Trinity Killer Case picking up where her former lover Frank Lundy left off, closes the Santa Muerta Case with some unfortunate casualties and despite being put on suspension while a fellow officer by the name of Cira Manzon becomes Detective in her place, Debra still manages to bust the Barrel Girls Case successfully, only being steps behind the "killer couple" she had hinted at before. One year later, with the recent promotion of Maria LaGuerta to Captain of Miami Metro Homicide (a position previously held by Tom Matthews), the position of Lieutenant has opened for a new replacement. At first Sergeant Angel Batista (who became Sergeant near the beginning of Season Three, ironically at that time forcing Debra off the Oscar Prado case to cement the position) was considered for the position, Maria's top pick to take her place. However, Deputy Chief Matthews reviews a recent heroic incident (which is circulated on a video sharing website, likely Youtube) with Debra back at a restaurant where a disgruntled employee came back to shoot up the place though she managed to take him down with no injury to civilians. This gives her a heroic feat under her belt and enough for Matthews to decide firmly on promoting her to Lieutenant, which she makes LaGuerta do. Humorously, the first promotion LaGuerta gave Deb was given with a heavy heart and annoyed attitude. The second promotion on the other hand was cheerful and proud, the two were actually friendly with one another. The third promotion is very emotional for LaGuerta who promised it to Batista, but now has to award it to Deb instead and she's not happy about it. Batista remains as Sergeant and while depressed about what occurred, he's proud of Debra...despite others such as Joey Quinn (who recently was turned down by a proposal to Deb) urging him that she's changed, Angel continues to believe in Deb and her abilities, aiding her now discreetly in dealing with being a Lieutenant. Effectively, she completely skipped the Golden Shield of a Homicide Sergeant to reach Lieutenant, certainly a notable feat by Debra Morgan. Plot Debra Morgan is featured from the start of Episode 1 and acts as the other Main Character throughout the series so thus she's in every episode and season to date. While her brother Dexter is dealing with a particular Main Antagonist, Debra is almost always hunting after the same character or another major antagonist that Dexter either doesn't invest his time in or otherwise. However, she has amazing detective abilities and typically catches on to clues just a mere step behind her brother thus leading Homicide multiple times towards success (almost accidentally catching her brother on multiple occassions). It is through her many selfless actions that she now holds the position of Lieutenant in Homicide and is able to lead the charge on new cases, including the most recent Doomsday Case. In Season 1 Despite being smart, she is unsure of herself, so instead relies upon Dexter's seemingly limitless expertise on murderers to solve difficult cases. Initially assigned to Vice, she was desperate to be transferred to Homicide, and after Tom Matthews promotes her she starts to gain a lot of confidence in herself and relies less on Dexter's abilities and more on her own. Debra develops a close relationship with a man called Rudy Cooper, who is actually the Ice Truck Killer, who is dating her in order to get close to Dexter. She falls in love with him and trusts him infinitely. At the end of the season, Rudy proposes to her and she accepts and is then kidnapped by him in order to reveal himself to Dexter. She is bound to a table in the same manner that Dexter kills his victims, while Dexter and Brian discuss her fate. In the show she is unconscious but in Darkly Dreaming Dexter, she is wide awake, and finds out that her brother is a killer. Debra is severely affected by Rudy's betrayal; she moves in with Dexter for fear of being alone. In Season 2 Debra is particularly frail at the start of season 2, still recovering from her ordeal with the Ice Truck Killer. Key to her recovery were Dexter and an older man and Special Agent, Frank Lundy. She starts to bury herself in work and is very wary of anyone she has a relationship with, such as Gabriel. She feels that she is not a good detective because she didn't spot that her fiancé was a serial killer but Frank Lundy tells her otherwise and they, mid-season, develop a romantic relationship which ends in Debra gaining her confidence back. She stays in Dexter's house while she deals with the trauma of what happened to her, leaving his apartment a total mess to the point where Dexter says, jokingly, "I will not kill my sister," repeatedly. Come the end of the season she has regained all of her confidence and her police work is back to scratch. She is more determined than ever to improve her career and earn a detective shield. But she is still upset when Frank Lundy has to leave Miami due to his work. In Season 3 As Season 3 begins, Debra has had her hair cut to shoulder length, has "sworn off men, liquor and smokes" and is even more determined to get her silver detective shield. She is working with a new partner, Detective Joey Quinn, but has been approached by an Internal Affairs officer who tells her that her partner is being investigated as a dirty cop; but she refused to assist IA. She was originally part of the team investigating the murder of Miguel Prado's brother Oscar, but because of her lack of tact and people skills she was removed from the case by the newly-promoted Detective Sergeant Batista; however, the case she has been assigned to (the murder of a young woman) was eventually found to have been the connected Skinner case, which she solved with the help of Anton Briggs, a C.I. whom she started a relationship with after saving his life from "the Skinner". Because of her success on the Skinner case, she was given her detective shield at the end of the season. In Season 4 A conversation between her and Dexter leads to her finding out her father slept with one of his confidential informants. She investigates the files on Harry's informants and interviews them, hoping to find the one Harry slept with. One of the files is shown to be Laura Moser. Also during this time, her relationship with Anton has been breaking, especially now that he had a gig in the city instead of on a cruise ship. This is put on hold by the return of Frank Lundy to Miami to hunt the Trinity Killer, and Debra once again becomes involved with Lundy. Soon, both she and Lundy are shot by an unknown assailant suspected to be the Vacation Killers, with adding insult to injury, she confesses to Anton that she slept with Lundy, prompting them to immediately break up. Lundy dies, and she eventually figures out the Trinity Killer is the shooter. As a result, Debra opens an investigation to the Trinity Killer. However, it is later revealed that Trinity could not have been the shooter. Since her wounds from the bullet were in a horizontal line, someone of Masuka's height had to be the shooter. During a Thanksgiving dinner Debra remembers a conversation she had with Christine Hill and realizes she has knowledge of the shooting that no one outside the police department knew about. This leads Debra to believe that she was the shooter. This is backed up later when it is revealed that Hill is the daughter of Trinity. Hill later confesses to Debra that she was the shooter, moments before she shoots herself in the head. Due to her solving the Lundy killing, she restarts her search for Harry's C.I. mistress, and finds out about Laura Moser, and the fact that Dexter and the Ice Truck Killer are brothers. In Season 5 Debra is on the scene shortly after the events of Season 4 come to a close, telling fellow officers to back off her brother as she takes Harrison into her arms and asks Dexter what happened. Debra becomes shocked and confused at Dexter's response, also realizing that now Rita is dead. She backs her brother despite the opposition from FBI and her own department alike, not realizing that Joey Quinn has taken an interest in Dexter's possible connection to Rita's murder. She is seen taking care of Harrison while Dexter copes with his loss, though works to get everything ready for the funeral in her brother's absent emotional state...including setting up the coffin, memorial artwork and the likes. After a bad breakup with Anton Briggs and the loss of Frank Lundy, Debra has been cornered with a lot of unfortunate outcomes with her relationship status. Feeling a sense of obligation to Rita, she arrives with Quinn at her house to cleanup the blood...which Quinn objects because that is something the FBI is paid to do but she feels it is her duty, so they go ahead and clean the place spotless of the bloodspills. After they finish up, they begin to converse on how she's holding up...and she starts to break down in tears, while Quinn attempts to comfort her...but little does he know that the tables turn when she starts kissing him, resulting in the both of them having a extreme moment of passion that ends in sex. After they finish, Debra goes to sort through dresses as Quinn is still in shock (and likes the fact) of what just happened, questioning her on what this means from here on out. Debra is in extreme denial, pushing Quinn away while she takes a stack of dresses back to Dexter's Apartment...with Quinn still wondering what this means between the two of them. When she learns that Dexter skipped out on his FBI interview (regarding Rita's death), she becomes infuriated and tries to reach him by phone but when that fails, she busts through the door of the apartment to see Harrison in the arms of "the crazy cat lady" from downstairs. Apparently Dexter had her watch over Harrison, so she tries to get ahold of him again (with some of her famous cusswords and anger) and still fails to figure out where he's at. She as well as the rest of Homicide attend the funeral, with her thinking centered on Dexter, who is still missing, but Quinn attempts to run his theory about Dexter by her when Dexter suddenly arrives (thus cutting him off) and the funeral commences. Some time passes and Harrison has grown a bit, with Dexter and the rest moving all of their possessions into what was supposed to be her apartment. She even is forced to bunk with Astor Bennett while Dexter sleeps on the couch and Cody on the cot. The stress of this starts to build, along with a new case in the midst...the Santa Muerte Murders. Relationships Debra also has a very poor track record with relationships which is another contrast to Dexter and his steady (except for part of Season 2) relationship with Rita. Sean "The Mechanic" was the subject of a brief relationship from the first season episode (Crocodile). It wasn't long before Debra discovered he was married and as a result, she dumped him. Rudy Cooper She dated Rudy Cooper (during Season 1), unaware that he is actually the Ice Truck Killer and also Dexter's biological brother. Rudy eventually proposes to Debra and she accepts, but soon after he reveals his identity and drugs her, to use as bait against Dexter. Dexter rescues Debra and later kills Rudy "for the safety of (his) sister." In Season 4 Deb finally discovers the truth about Dexter's biological family. She is very upset and tells Dexter, thinking he has no idea of who his brother was, and goes on to say that she loves Dexter more than anyone. Gabriel Gabriel was yet another brief relationship (in season 2). Debra met him while working out at the gym. They went on several dates, but eventually Debra left him because of her growing attraction to Frank Lundy. Frank Lundy In Season 2, she becomes romantically involved with Frank Lundy and they have a healthy relationship despite their age difference. Debra is attracted to him partially because of his success as an FBI Agent but also of the approval he has for her viewpoints. He inspires confidence in Debra; something she never received from Harry. Unfortunately, his job forces them to end their relationship. Later they started things up again while she was seeing Anton, but they were both shot and Frank was killed. (Dex Takes a Holiday) Anton Briggs In Season 3, she seems to have finally found a match in Anton, her "CI" for the George King case. When her case might have been in jeopardy due to her romantic involvement with Anton, she chose him over the case, and still received her detective's shield, with approval from Lt. LaGuerta. She also served as Dexter's "Best Man" for the wedding. It has been joked by some fans that Debra may have something of an Electra complex. First she (unknowingly) starts a relationship with her foster brother's (Dexter's) biological brother (Rudy/Brian). Then she begins a relationship with Lundy, who is approximately her father's would be age, and like him, a respected police officer (albiet for the FBI rather than Miami P.D.). And finally she begins seeing a CI, something her father once did. Most recently she has started seeing Joey Quinn, a badmouthed cop that is practically perfect for Debra...both are around the same age, both work well together on the job and both have similar personalities. Joey Quinn When Quinn is first introduced during Season 3, it starts out as a simple flirtacious jokes with the occassional hint here and there. However, Quinn nor Debra ever even considers a relationship or a fling at this point therefore it's mostly just tension. In Season 4, there is less of the hints as Frank Lundy shows up and ends up dying midway through the season and Quinn mainly is dealing with his own relationship this season with Arthur Mitchell's biological daughter. Both Debra Morgan and Joey Quinn lose someone they love this season...which sort of aids them in Season 5. At the very start of Season 5, during a housecleanup after the death of Rita Bennett...the two have a rapid, violent experiment in sex in the house. After they finish, Debra denies that anything actually happened while Quinn constantly pressures Debra into trying to accept what happened and that the two should hook up. Debra stays in denial, constantly badmouthing Quinn and is quick on the defensive sign to suggest that they were dating or worse in her mind...possibly getting married. As Quinn starts to back off a bit, Debra starts realizing that she's developing feelings for him and ultimately becomes jealous a few times, before finally coming up to him and admitting that she loves him. The two then kiss and start acting more and more like lovers. They're not yet open about it with anyone but they certainly are happy with one another in person. However, Debra's recently found out that Quinn was suspended for investigating Dexter as the beginning of the season (she doesn't know that he hired a private investigator) and wants nothing to do with him, even though Quinn had just told her that he loved her. The two are talking with one another, but Quinn is still trying to press back into the relationship...truly feeling that he loves her...and Debra is starting to believe him again, as she can see who Quinn really is and that he may drop this whole hunch on Dexter. In the novels In the books, the character's name is spelled "Deborah", and she is described as "voluptuous". She also talks about how she has not been taken seriously because she has large breasts. In the novel Darkly Dreaming Dexter and the follow-up novels, Deborah finds out her brother is a killer, and appears to accept it, although sometimes torn between her duty as a sister and as a cop regarding what she should do to him. After being stabbed in Dexter By Design, Deborah has finally come to accept Dexter for what he is, and in Dexter is Delicious, she even asks him to kill Bobby Acosta, knowing he will walk away free after being found to be a cannibal because of his family's wealth and connections. At the conclusion of Dexter is Delicious, Deborah is pregnant by Kyle Chutsky, who had left her after coming to the conclusion that he was of no use to her. She is also unaware that Brian has returned as her birthing classes are on the same day that Brian visits Dexter and Rita. List of Swear Words Used by Debra *"Holy Jesus on a Stick!" *"Fat Jesus on A Bike" *"Fuck!" *"Shit!" *"Asshole!" *"Motherfucker!" *"Fuck me!" *"Fuck me twice on Sundays!" *"Fuck me sideways!" *"Fuck me in both ears." *"I don't fuck and tell." *"A metric fuck-ton." *"Oh, sweet Mary, mother of fuck, that's good!" *"A baby?! A motherfucking rolly-poly chubby-cheeked shit-machine, are you kidding me?!" *"FBI? 'Fucking Bunch of Idiots'." *"Shitload." *"Shitcock motherfuck!" *"Mother-shit-fuck!" *"Shit a brick and fuck me with it!" *"Go shit up a rope." *"Jizz-bucket." *"Fuck you!" *"Holy Frankenfuck, snakes!" *"Fuck balls, you're serious... Sir." *"Where in Fucktopia are you?" es:Deborah "Debra" Morgan Category:Characters Category:Season 1 characters Category:Season 2 characters Category:Season 3 characters Category:Season 4 characters Category:Main characters Category:Season 5 characters Category:Season 6 Characters Category:Characters present at Dexter's wedding Category:Characters seen in Flashbacks Category:Early Cuts Characters Category:Miami Metro Police Department Category:Miami Metro Homicide Department Category:Frank Lundy's Task Force Category:Members of Dexter's Family